Bali was the original vacationer’s paradise in Asia, discovered in the 1930s by Westerners captivated by its gracious culture and breathtaking scenery.
My first brush with this famed Indonesian island came much later, in the ’80s, when my parents vacationed there and brought home a huge Balinese painting. For years I would study its intricate detailing and yet never fully understand it – it portrayed Balinese dancers in some kind of religious ceremony, yet hinted at a culture far more mysterious than my own.
In subsequent years, it seemed Bali was featured in every fashionable magazine on the planet. Balinese architecture, with its carved outer doorways and sloping roofs, influenced many a Western designer. Ubud was known for its artists’ community and market, from whence came every craft imaginable, from batik to stone statues. The Mandara Spa popularized Balinese massage worldwide. Amanresorts – as well as luxe hotel chains like The Ritz-Carlton and The Four Seasons – staked its claim on the island, building five-star getaways in choice locations like Nusa Dua. Meanwhile, backpackers who thumbed their noses at such indulgence chose the more down-to-earth neon and nightlife of Kuta Beach.
While Bali’s backpacker options are endless, most Pinoys like to travel with a little more style and a lot more value for money.
Ever since the bombing in 2002, when tourist arrivals dropped precipitously, top carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has made a concerted effort to help the island lure visitors back. First they offered "Enchanting Bali," packages of three- to seven-night resort stays that cost $408 and up, including roundtrip Economy Class airfare from Manila, daily American breakfasts, airport transfers and a wide choice of three- to five-star hotels. (This promotion is ongoing until June 2005.)
After the December tsunamis and more recent earthquakes and volcanic activity, SIA has been stepping up its programs and adding even more enticing reasons for customers to fly to Bali and Singapore.
If you thought Bali on a budget was out of reach, think again. Every SIA passenger – whether First Class, Raffles Class or Economy Class – not only experiences their unparalleled service (movies on demand, gourmet meals by international chefs, solicitous flight attendants, planes that leave and arrive on time), but is also eligible for their "Boarding Pass Privileges" program. Instead of tossing your boarding pass once you’ve boarded (or instantly losing it, like I always do), simply show it to SIA’s partner merchants in Bali and Singapore for big discounts.
(Pinoy passengers, take note: SIA has two flights daily from Manila to Denpasar, Bali, and both have same-day connections in Singapore. Or you have the option of staying overnight in Singapore for only $28 per person, based on twin sharing. Simply ask SIA or your travel agent for the "Singapore Stopover Package.")
Discounts range from 10 to 50 percent off hotel stays, shops, restaurants, spas, and other attractions.
Singapore Airlines’ young and dynamic manager in Bali, Andrew Tan, recently took our little group of Singaporean journalists and myself around the island to experience firsthand the exclusive privileges awaiting SIA passengers.
50 percent off rates. Late checkout till 3 p.m. Tel. (+62-361) 771-510.
• Kupu Kupu Barong Villas, Ubud. Here, you could fool yourself into thinking you’re staying at an Aman resort at less than half the price. Decorated in high style by French manager Patrick Labrousse, Kupu Kupu overlooks the lush Ayung River valley, with its cool breezes and chattering monkeys. Each villa is a split-level with its own plunge pool, hot tub, and balcony perfect for breakfasting. The ultra-friendly staff smile at you so much you start wondering, "Is there something on my face?"
While the resort has its own Le Spa, the piéce de resistance is the Tree Spa, built high up in a mango tree. A trail of frangipani leads you up to a room with two massage beds, a bathroom gilded in gold leaf and a soothing river view. Not surprisingly, many guests have asked to sleep there. Labrousse already has plans for a Tree Café. We can’t wait.
Raffles Class passengers get one night free in a private villa with plunge pool. All passengers who stay one night get a second night free. Tel. 975-478.
• Hard Rock Hotel, Kuta. Here you can stay in a themed room, watch live bands at the lobby every night or even record your own CD.
SIA passengers receive a "Shop Around" voucher booklet from the Guest Relations Officer Desk, offering up to 20 percent off various F&B, spa, leisure and shopping at the hotel.
15-percent discount off F&B at all seven locations. Website: www.lotus-restaurants.com.
• Teras Padi Café, Tegalalang, Ubud. If success is all a matter of location, then charming owner Ika hit the jackpot. Here you can have tea in her little gazebos overlooking emerald rice terraces etched into the hillsides. Don’t miss the pineapple-and-jackfruit crepes drizzled with cinnamon sauce, or the blended avocado juice spiked with chocolate.
20 percent off all F&B. Tel. (+62-361) 742-5789
• Nelayan Café, Jimbaran Bay. Come early, so you can snag a table right on Kuta beach and have dinner while watching the sunset. This is no-frills dining at its best. Freshly caught seafood is marinated in Nelayan’s special sauce and grilled on coconut-fueled stoves for extra flavor. A medium sampler basket will get you generous helpings of crab, red snapper, prawns, squid, clams, mussels and a whole lobster (at a mere 200,000 rupiah, or $20). After you’ve gorged yourself silly, take a walk on the beach or sit back with a drink and listen to live music from a roving band. For Pinoys they’ll even play Freddie Aguilar’s immortal hit, Anak.
20-percent discount off a la carte or package menu for food only. Tel. 708-786.
• La View Restaurant, Kupu Kupu Barong Villas, Ubud. Kupu Kupu’s main dining outlet is perched atop a dense tropical rainforest. The food is very fine Balinese with a French twist, and the service is also fusion, meaning leisurely. But there’s usually no reason to rush in this secluded little corner of paradise.
20 percent off all F&B. Tel. 975-478
• Melia Bali Villas & Spa, Nusa Dua. Their outlet El Patio serves a sumptuous breakfast buffet as well as excellent à la carte items like grilled red snapper and mixed fruit with cinnamon sauce. Choose between indoor air-conditioning or outdoor al fresco dining by a fountain pool.
20 percent off total F&B. Tel. 771-1510.
• Aji-Sai Japanese restaurant. Kuta Galeria. 15 percent off food. Tel. 769-036.
• Nusa Dua Beach Hotel. 15 percent off published rates at F&B outlets. Tel. 771-210.
• Planet Hollywood Bali. 15 percent off ala carte menu and free Planet Hollywood Favorite Cocktail. Tel. 757-827.
20 to 30 percent off batik items. Tel. (+62-361) 463-597.
• Jenggala Keramik, Jimbaran. This temple to ceramics and glass is heaven for those who love their homes. Jenggala has been designing, manufacturing and retailing tableware for 30 years, and supplies five-star hotels and humble cafés alike, like Teras Padi. The flagship store includes a café, gallery, production facilities and a Paint-A-Pot cum Make Your Own Ceramics area. Japanese tourists love to take home the lotus-shaped pottery in green gloss. Our little group favored the new line glazed in racing-car red.
10-percent discount on ceramics and glass items. Tel. 703-311.
• Uluwatu Lace Boutique, Jalan Legian, Kuta. While Balinese women have traditionally made the exquisite textiles for dancing and temple ceremonies, Made Jati noticed that the art of handmade lace was disappearing fast and stepped in to save it. Now she produces modern clothing and linen accented with lace – stretched on bamboo hoops and done by hand on foot-powered sewing machines. One item can take five or more days to complete and all pieces are signed by the artist.
15 percent off all items (not to be used in conjunction with other offers). For other locations log on to www. uluwatu.com.
• DFS Galleria Bali. $10 discount voucher. Tel. 758-875
The massage at Martha Tilaar was the best we tried in Bali. The usual lulur and whitening aside, this spa is the only one offering Ken Dedes ($70 for two hours), literally a royal treatment that princesses indulge in before their weddings. First they scrub you with lulur, a saffron-colored spice. After a body massage, steam session and herbal bath, they fire up some special herbs in a censer and place it under a chair you’re sitting on, with your sarong draped over everything like a tent. The treatment softens and lightens your skin, while the smoke reduces discharge and freshly scents your nether regions. Perez says he plans to open a spa here in Corinthian Gardens, and that VIPs and celebrities are already booked far in advance to try Ken Dedes. At Martha Tilaar, you can avoid the queue.
20 percent off spa treatments and packages. Tel. (+62-361) 777-661.
• Siesta and Amerta Spas, Kuta. Siesta and Amerta are very popular among Japanese tourists, and you could mistake director Hery Tjahyadi for a Japanese, so fluent is he in the language and so attuned to the needs of his clientele. The big thing in Japan right now is the cream bath ($45), a hair treatment designed to make locks bounce and shine. After a shampoo, one of five fragrant creams is massaged into the scalp and then wrapped in hot towels. While the cream sets, the rest of the body gets massaged, particularly the neck, shoulders, back and feet. After the cream is rinsed off and a quick blow-dry, both you and your hair emerge rejuvenated and glowing.
At Amerta, Hery also proudly showed us his take on another new trend in the industry, the spa villa. On their last day in Bali, Japanese couples will usually check out of their hotel at noon and head straight for a private spa villa, where they spend the last six hours before their flight getting the full menu of treatments, with short breaks in between to snack on light spa fare. Amerta’s spa villa is equipped with everything from dual massage beds, steam tents and facial chairs to a plunge pool. The only catch to this private Eden? You definitely have to book in advance, as Hery can only accommodate one couple per day.
25 percent off published rates. Tel. 742-3939, 742-0101 (Amerta Spa) or 703-288.
• Melia Bali Villas & Spa. 20 percent off published rates for spa treatments (plus free use of gym and entrance to the cabaret show). Tel. 771-510.
• Nusa Dua Beach Hotel. 15 percent off published rates on any spa treatment. Tel. 771-210.
At the end of the river a hearty buffet lunch was waiting, then showering facilities and dry towels (you have to bring along a change of clothes). Even the non-sporty types among us who had to be dragged to Sobek felt that addictive adrenaline high, and emerged from the Ayung drenched but happy.
Sobek also offers cycling tours, interior and jungle trekking and four-wheel-drive adventures.
15 percent off published rates. Tel. (+62-361) 287-059.
• Bali Hai Cruises. The famous song has been translated into a romantic sunset-dinner cruise ($40 per adult) that sets sail from Benoa Harbour at 5:45 p.m. and anchors three hours later. After two days of uncharacteristic rain, we glimpsed a bit of weak sun through the clouds on the breezy Bali Hai deck. The boat is equipped with dining tables good for 300 in readiness for the dinner buffet, a selection of international and Balinese dishes. The live cabaret show is a hoot, with vogueing dancers and a trannie chanteuse crooning hits from Chicago to bemused male guests, including our very own Andrew Tan from SIA.
Bali Hai also offers dolphin, reef and beach-club cruises, ocean rafting, catamaran sailing, diving, parasailing and accommodations at their Hai Tide Huts on Lembongan Island.
15 percent off published cruise rates. Tel. 720-331.
• Waterbom Park, Kuta. A whole day of family fun awaits at this 3.8-hectare park, which has 14 slides (the tallest stands 24 m.), an aquatic playground, kiddie park, bungee trampoline, wall climbing and all manner of food stalls – a complete theme park built around water. Admission is $18.50 for adults, $9.50 for kids from three to 12 years. There’s even a Mandara Spa for stressed parents.
15 percent discount off rates. Tel. 755-676.
• Bali Bird Park. 10 percent off published entrance rates. Tel. 287-059.
• Golden Rama Express Tours. From Golden Rama came our amiable tour guide, I Wayan Suparta, who has an uncommon affinity with Filipinos. In his daily patter, we learned why Bali is Hindu-Buddhist while the rest of Indonesia is Muslim, or who those gods are who stand guard at all of Bali’s traffic circles. Aside from squiring us around for three days, Golden Rama also offers two- to eight-hour tours like their best-selling Kintamani tour, where you can watch the traditional Barong and Kris dances, tour Celuk and Mas, the gold, silver and wood-carving centers, then view beautiful Batur lake and volcano, the Sebatu temple with Bali’s first rice terraces, and end at Ubud (50 percent off published Bali tour rates. Buy two full days at 50-percent off and get one half-day tour free. Tel. 237-081).
I’d love to take their Tanahlot tour, a jaunt to a temple on a cliff by the sea (much like France’s Mont St. Michel), or see Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave, with its elaborate carvings. But that’s for another trip to Bali, because three days on this wondrous "island of the gods" is definitely not enough.
For "Enchanting Bali" and "Singapore Stopover" bookings and information, contact your travel agent or Singapore Airlines in Manila at 753-5151 to 53, 756-8888 , 232-6211 in Cebu and 224-5608 in Davao. Silkair Specials are also available for passengers from Cebu and Davao.